Andy Murray has made a winning return to action with a 6-3 6-4 defeat of Australia's James Duckworth in the first round of the Brisbane International.
It was Murray's first match since September last year, with an ongoing hip injury hampering him for over 12 months.
The 31-year-old only played one Grand Slam in 2018 - the US Open in September - as he rehabbed from hip surgery at the start of the year.
It will go down as a straight sets win for the three-time Grand Slam champion, but Murray didn't have it all his own way.
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And although Duckworth put in a solid performance, it was the Brit's body that seemed to give him the most trouble.
Early on in the second set, Murray grabbed at his left calf and spent a few moments stretching the muscle.
Never one to hide his emotions, Murray appeared visibly irritated at various points throughout the set.
Despite the aggravation, Murray was able to break late in the set and hold serve to advance to the second round.
Having dropped to as low as 839 in the ATP rankings last year, an emtional Murray was relieved to finally be back on the court.
"It's not easy to sum up in one sentence or one answer," he said when asked about his time out.
"It's been a really hard 18 months. A lot of ups and downs. It's been tricky to just get back on the court competing again.
"I'm happy to be out here again and I want to try and enjoy it as much as I can.
"I don't know how much longer it's going to last, but we'll see."
Seeing @andy_murray visibly emotional after his 1st round win tonight is heartwarming to see. An athlete that realizes his athletic mortality and doing his best to enjoy it and clearly put in hard work to get there. Happy for him and wish him as much success as possible.
— James Blake (@JRBlake) January 1, 2019
While Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer still occupy the top three spots in the ATP rankings, a host of young players are ready to take over the mantle.
Murray hinted that it could nearly be time for a changing of the guard, with Alex Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas all knocking on the door.
"It kills me that I've not been able to be there competing," he continued.
"Obivously the top three spots in the rankings are still taken up by the same three guys, but there is going to come a time when the youngsters take over.
"But it's amazing what those three guys are still doing.
"It's not going to go on forever and I'm sure as a tennis fan everyone just want to enjoy these last few years while they're still playing.
"They're incredible players and ambassadors of the sport and I've been lucky to compete amoungst them and hopefully I'll have a few chances over the coming months to play against them again."
Murray will play fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Brisbane International.